A baby is dead, two children in state custody after Missouri couple seeks shelter in Nebraska garage

A newborn has died, two other children have been taken into custody by the state of Nebraska, after a Missouri couple attempted to weather the first night of the year in the garage of a Lincoln hospital.

The family told Lincoln police that they have been living in a rental cargo van for weeks, driving through a number of states, seeking work.

Court documents disclose the couple took their newborn into the hospital New Year’s evening. After her death, state officials took a three-year-old and a nine-year-old into custody. The order for temporary custody reports the baby girl was born in Missouri on November the 25th. There are no records that she had been taken to the hospital since her birth.

Lincoln police say the couple told them they had slept in the van during a long trip through Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, and California. Though the couple claims they rented the van, court documents say it has been reported stolen from Colorado.

The couple said they had stopped in Lincoln while driving to the Dakotas, seeking shelter at CHI St. Elizabeth Hospital.